Tuesday, 24 November 2009

what's in the window?

The Window changes alot at Fabrications but at the moment it's all about baked goods! There's crochet cupcakes and biscuits, and some amazing ceramic cakes by Robert Archer (you may have seen his stuff at the V&A's village fete in the summer!) His knitted playstation controller is also amazing!


These embroidered boxes are by Taman Sheikh, whose currently studyingTextiles at Chelsea college of Art aren't they lovely! Perfect for carrying your crochet cakes in! Which she also made along with the biscuits!



Meet Christina! A regular Fabrications vistor and an avid knitter, last time I met her she was proudly showing an amazing cardigan she'd knitted and this week she showed us this stunning vest and hat combination! Her hats are particularly incredible as she plays with mixing yarns and wire to manipulate the shape of the hat! She's going to be running a workshop demonstrating her wire and yarn mixing talents at Fabrications some time next year so keep a look out as I'm sure it will be amazing!
We are busy today getting ready for Hidden Art this weekend! Hope to see you there!

Tuesday, 17 November 2009

Not Another Rubbish Christmas!

Hello! It's Tuesday, my name is Claire and I'll be making guest posts each week to keep you up to date with what's going on at Fabrications! I'm also going to be rummaging around the shop to pick my favourite item of the week and giving you some insight on what goes on behind the scenes! This week is all about Barley's sustainable gift wrapping service! The service offers the oppurtunity to wrap your gifts and look after the planet! The gifts will be beautifully wrapped and knotted around using vintage head scarves, handmade bows and the art of ‘Furoshiki’ – a traditional Japanese technique used to wrap and carry objects using fabric. There will also be the opportunity to decorate by creating your own individual rosette and bows or tag made from a range of festive coloured reused materials.



Make your gift your own by adding bows and rosettes!

The service is available here at Fabrications - if you can't make it down during the day be sure to make a note of the late night openings in your diary Thursdays 10th + 17th December is when Broadway Market’s late night Xmas shopping event is taking place!

Barley's gift wrapping service at last Christmas' Hidden Art Design Fair

Barley is also going to be demonstrating at ‘Hidden Art Design Fair’ in Truman’s Brewery, Brick Lane from Friday 27th to Sunday 29th November and the ‘East London Design Show’, Shoreditch Town Hall from Thursday 3rd to Sunday 6th December.

The service can also be taken away in kit format! The kits come with enough to wrap 3 gifts and is available at Fabrications and soon will be avialble in Liberty too!

Thursday, 12 November 2009

Eco Home Show

The Eco Home show opened last month at the Geffrye Museum, East London. Co curated by Alex Goddard of the Geffrye Museum and designer / tv presenter Oliver Heath. It is well worth a visit (you've got until February 2010) - stylishly put together, sensitive and creative use of reclaimed materials for the displays, informative, hands on and fun and it includes work by pioneering eco designers!

TONIGHT! (7 - 9pm) There is a thought provoking debate at the Geffrye Museum, which explores issues around making our homes greener. Chaired by Alex Godard, on the panel is Oliver Heath, Tom Savinger - Future Laboratory, David Kenington - Energy Saving Trust and Sean Allam - John Lewis (show sponsor)

Info taken from Geffrye Museum's website: This exhibition hopes to address, without preaching, widespread and increasing concerns about ecology and the state of the planet and how this links to our homes and the way we use, decorate and inhabit them. It will examine current ideas around ‘eco-living’ in an informative and timely way. The climate change agenda is having an impact on almost every area of life and the home is no exception. Recycling and saving energy have, for some, been part of daily life for generations but today they have a new significance and urgency. The mantra ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’ is prompting us to change our habits and there are now a plethora of products out there to help us........

Wednesday, 21 October 2009

Knitting + Crafting Classes

BEGINNERS KNITTING
Sunday 25th October, 2 - 4.30pm
Learn the basics - how to cast on, knit + pearl stitch, introduce a new colour and cast off. This session will be run by Fabrications' Barley Massey. (£20 / £15 conc)
INTERMEDIATE / ADVANCED KNITTING
Sunday 1st November, 2- 4.30pm
A post Halloween special! This session is tailored to what YOU want to learn with a bit of a theme thrown in! Rachael Matthews fun approach can guide you through reading patterns, colour work, 3d shapes.....
Rachael Matthews is an inspirational and experienced crafter. Founder member of the notorious 'Cast Off Knitting club for Boys + Girls', responsible for public knitting antics such as 'Knitting on the circle line' and the 'completely knitted wedding' at the Pump House gallery. Author of 'Knitorama' and 'Hookerama' and winner of this year's Jerwood contemporary makers prize.(£20 / £15 conc.)



KNIT LARGE

Sunday 8th November, 2 - 4.30pm
Learn some extreme knitting techniques with Barley Massey + Katherine Grace on Wool-n-Boat's giant knitting needles, circular needles or french knitting wheels and create your own wintery accessory.
* * You will need to know the basics to make the most of this session* * (£20 / £15)

CROCHET

Sunday 15th November, 2 - 4.30pm
A session for absolute beginners but also improvers. Crochet is a great 'free style' handicraft, an alternative or a means to enhance or join your knitting, Lovely 3d effects, lacey, flowery, borders....This session will be led by Rachael Matthews. (£20 / £15 conc)

FELTED XMAS STOCKINGS

Saturday 21st November, 10.30 - 4.30pm
(with a lunch break!)
A more advanced felt making session in which Abigail Thomas will show you how to create 3d shapes and a sandwich resist technique during which you will design and make your own felted Xmas stocking!

Abigail Thomas is a textile and book artist based in Hackney. She teaches felting to enthusiastic crafters and keen beginners, passing on basic techniques as well as inspirational and experimental ideas. Felt can be used to make wonderful useful items like slippers and tea cosies but also artistic and decorative pieces like beads, brooches and wall hangings.
The workshop will be run downstairs in the workshop, so max numbers for this session is 6 with a fixed fee of £45 per person (this includes colourful + natural 100% wool tops)

INTRODUCTION TO PATCHWORK QUILTING

Sunday 22 November, 2 - 4.30pm Katherine May will be passing on traditional skills whilst encouraging recycling, exploring poetic ideas and emotional attachments. Participants are encouraged to experiment with colour and pattern, share stories and memories and work together as a group.
Textile techniques and skills: step by step making of hand pieces patchwork, sewn by hand, creating your quilt 'sandwich' and basting, rocking stitch, tying/knotting the quilt, creative recycling.Materials: Collected pre loved and vintage fabrics will be supplied but participants are encouraged to bring items they have at home, from textiles which hold special memories to those simply no longer used. Fabrications will provide a basic sewing kit and instructions/inspirations sheet for participants to take home and carry on developing their skills.

Katherine May is a textile designer maker inspired by the communities that have developed around crafts, such as quilting. In her practise she explores traditional skills working intuitively to piece together patchwork designs that favour bold use of colour and strong geometric pattern. She creates textile products for the home that will build bonds with the user to enjoy a long life. (£20 / £15 conc)




FELTED XMAS DECORATIONS
Saturday 28th November, 2 - 4.30pm
Have fun making some festive decorations whilst learning the brief history of felt, basic wet felting techniques and how to create 3d shapes and flat felt sheets. All materials will be provided as well as take home info sheets.This session will be led by Abigail Thomas. The session costs (£20. materials included. Max of 6)





KNITTED XMAS DECORATIONS
Sunday 13th December, 2 - 4.30pm
Knitted Xmas decorations - for your tree, stockings, as gifts and lots of opportunity to use sequins!You need to know the basics for this session.
HO! Ho! HO! Introducing a new teacher to Fabrications' fold - Aneeta Patel! (disguised by her knitted santa beard and hat!)

Aneeta Patel learned to knit when she was about 5 years old by her right-handed aunt. This means that she knits right-handed even though she is actually left-handed! It also means she has no barriers to teaching either left or right handed knitters. Aneeta created 'Knitting SOS' in 2006, a service for knitters in need of emergency advice! She subsequently wrote her thoughtful knitting book 'Knitty Gritty'. Hopefully she will bring along some copies of her book for sale after her session! (£20 / £15 conc)

FESTIVE PATCHWORK FUN
Sunday 20th December, 2 - 4.30pm
Katherine May will follow up her introduction class with some more advanced techniques in this session, whilst keeping in the festive spirit! There will be opportunity to design and make patchwork lavender bags. As with the last session materials will be provided but Katherine also encourages you to bring along your own pre loved or collected fabrics. (£20 / £15 conc)

Wednesday, 7 October 2009

Swishing Salon

The doors open tomorrow at 10am for the annual textile pilgrimage - 'The Knitting and Stitching Show' at Alexander Palace, North London. It is a very insprational show with work by top textile practitioners, up and coming crafters, textile guilds. It's also a great place to source different materials, supplies, patterns, magazines...the list goes on (don't forget your cheque book!)
This year the show is on trend with a new section - 'The Swishing Salon'

Mrs Bears swap shop will be helping the swishing team from Sewing World and Bliss, making sure all the garments you bring in are carefully graded, you will be issued with a rashion book with coloured stamps according to the quality of your garments, then you can raid the rails and swap 'like for like' and walk away with a new wardrobe!

Meanwhile myself and the Fabrications' team will be on hand with a sewing machine sponsored by Brother, showing you some customising tips and tricks. I will also have a display of my 'Remember Me' service (in which you can bring me your clothes or textiles which hold sentimental value to be transformed into comforting furnishings for the home or gifts) and my new 'Rethink Rubbish' kits.
Sissy Rooney has made a special trip from Manchester to offer her 'Street style surgery'.


So what's stopping you?
All proceeds from the Swishing Salon
will be going to the premature baby charity Bliss.
The show is on Thursday to Sunday, 10am - 5.30pm.

Thursday, 24 September 2009

London Design Festival


Skandium presents....'Knit Wits' with Iittala.

As you can see from my last post, I was kindly invited by Skandium to dress about 80 iconic Iittala products in knitting. I did this along with my friends from Hackney based knitting group 'Knitty Gritty'. We had a lot of fun devising different cosies and covers for items such as glass birds by Olva Toikka, Kivis by Heikki Orvola and the biggest challenge was a curvaseous jacket for Alvar Aalto's vases. To highlight Iittala's great ethos of 'lasting design against throwayism' I used salvaged yarns and reused materials (of course!) Our creations have now been installed in Skandium's windows on Brompton Road and Marlybone High Street and will be on show until Sunday 27th September.

* * Come along and celebrate * * the installation at a free knitting class with me and some of the Knitty Gritty girls at Skandium this Thursday 24th September, 6 - 8.30pm, available on a first come first serve basis. There will also be opportunity to enjoy tea and cakes, giggle at our knitted pieces and have a browse in Skandium's wonderful store. Participants will also receive a free 'Knit-Wit-kit', this is an Iittala / Barley Massey 'Rethink Rubbish' learn how to knit kit. The Knit-Wit-Kits have been in circulation at various locations in the London Design Festival.
If you find one we would love to see what you create with it!
(you can e-mail me or jodi@circle-pr.com )

Skandium, 245-249 Brompton Road, London SW3 2EP.

Saturday 26th September from 10am - 6pm

We will be at 'The Dock' in Ladbrook Grove with 'The Art Car Boot Fair' (or Art Car Bootique, cos it's gone West!)
The Dock event is an emporium of creative talent instigated by Tom Dixon.

I will be joining forces with Belle Tidswell to present our popular 'Emotional Baggage Handling service'. Check in at the booth and once you're feeling lighter try your luck at our 'Lost + Found tombolla'. There are 100 fantastic prizes ranging from quirky found objects with a psychological twist to contributions and recycled products from the following leading ethical designers: Annie Sherburne, Barley Massey (of course!), Hannah Greenaway, Jasper Startup, Jethro Macey, Robert Archard projects, Ryan Frank, Twisted Twee.

We will also have our 'Controversial Debates' game and my 'Rethink Rubbish' craft kits on sale.
















Other Festival highlights......
If you're planning to vist Tent, I would highly recommend visiting Katherine May's stand with her new collective Bricolage
Hidden Art kick started the festival with their exhibition 'Transforming Passion into Products' at the Oxo gallery
Have fun!

Wednesday, 9 September 2009

KNIT WIT

My friends Knitty Gritty and I have been busy knitting bees this month. We are getting ready for the London Design Festival.

Skandium have kindly invited me to cover a collection of iconic Iittala products in knitwear for window installations in their Brompton Road and Marlybone High Street stores.


I hope you can visit the 'Knit - Wit' installations, which runs from September 24th until 27th.

Keep an eye out for the free 'Knit-Wit-Kits' which will be in circulation at various locations around the design festival. The kits contain how to knit instructions, needles, wool with lots of exciting information about iittala and Skandium and a competition too!
Please e-mail barley@fabrications1.co.uk or jodi@circle-pr.co.uk your own knit wit creations as a result of finding a kit!
Happy hunting!!

I hope my choice of salvaged yarns and re used materials (eg the Aalto vase has a recycled plastic bag curvaseous cover) reinforces Iittala's great ethos of "lasting design against throwawayism"


and brings an appreciation of good quality craftmanship and a sense of imagination and fun......
Photography by Reuben Steains